Wednesday, June 28, 2017

"My Life in the USA"

My Life in the USA

By Thiphawan Gault-Williams

Written in 2010

I began my new life to be a housewife at first. After my husband went to work I stayed home
with our dog Buffy. At first I had only
one Thai girlfriend. Her name was
Tana. Tana and I like to cook and we
like to eat and talk.

In the fall of 2001 I was a housewife and student. I went to study ESL classes at the Eastside
Library from Monday through Friday. On
Saturday I went to the Farmer's Market in downtown Santa Barbara. I studied for a couple of months before the
weather got cold. I went to visit my
family in Thailand
for the first time since I came here in the year 2000.

In the summer of 2002 I went to study at Santa BarbaraCityCollege. I took ESL classes and I began with writing level
one, reading level one, and grammar level two.
It was so exciting for me, no matter the classes were a little hard for
me. I still liked to study and be back
in school again after my 6th grade in Thailand.

I studied very hard and spent my free time on lab
hours. I had to study more at home
because I always picked teachers who love to teach more than talk to wait their
times. I always look forward to having a
good grade and I did very well on every class I took. During my school term I always enjoyed my
bike ride to school at the EastBeach.

After I had studied up to level five my grade was dropped
down. I had to drop basic math two weeks
after fall 2004 began. My level five
writing was A+ but my reading was a D, including homework and the final
test. I was so upset and stopped
studying. I started look for jobs.

After fall 2002 besides being a housewife and student, I
started working for myself. After school
hours sometimes I did Thai traditional massage.
I like to do Thai massage because I can help people who are tired to
relax. Not just Thai traditional massage but sometimes I did foot massage with
a wooden sticks and oil.

In the school term my health was not good. I had different problems like migraines,
stomach aches, acid reflux, and heartburn.

After I had lived in Santa
Barbara for a couple of years I had more Thai
friends. Sometimes I invited my friend
to come to my house. We would cook Thai
food and enjoy it together. I sometimes
went to my friend's house on Christmas for the parties.

During my school break in summer time I went to visit my
family in Thailand. I went almost every year until my daughter
came from Thailand
to live with us. In the summer 2005 my
daughter came to stay with us. I was a
housewife, a mother, and a working woman, but I still wanted to study, no
matter I couldn't. During this period I
worked at three jobs. I worked at a
grocery store named Scholari's. I stood
next to the cashier bagging groceries for the customers. My second job was working at a restaurant. I was a runner, giving food to the
customers. I would sometimes help the
waitress refill the water glasses and clean the table. My last job was during the supermarket and
the restaurant. It was Thai massage and
food massage with wooden sticks and oil.

Sometimes my husband took my daughter and me camping. We went to Mutau Flat above Ojai. Another place we went was Anza Borrego desert
inland from San Diego. I like to camp a lot. When we went camping I
liked to barbecue chicken, shrimp, and squid.

In the fall of 2009 I went to take a class at Santa Barbara
City College Adult Education at the ScottCenter. I went to prepare for the GED but the class
was so hard for me because my English was not good.

In the winter of 2010 I changed my mind about the way to
prepare for my GED. I got the brochure
from Adult Education room 16 on how to get help from a tutor. The program had been going on for a long time
at the Santa Barbara Library and around town.
I called up Beverly Schwartzberg, a person who organizes the
program. It took her a couple of weeks
before she found one of the teachers to help me for reading, writing, and
grammar to prepare for my GED. Her name
is Gwen and she has been helpful for me.
I love to study with her a lot.
The program is free. No matter I
can take the GED test or not because of my English. I still like to learn more English no matter
what. I really thank the people who run
the program. It is helpful for me to
learn more English and prepare for my GED.

I have lived in Santa
Barbara for ten years now, from the year 2000 until
now, the year 2010. My daughter lived
with us for five years and now she has moved back to Thailand to go to college
there. I miss her and look forward to
visiting her in November 2010.

Another sad thing for our family was when my dog Buffy died
last fall on October 26, 2009.

Many things good or sad happen to me but I still have my
husband who loves me so much and my family and my friends who stay beside me.